Prison?

[sam.r]

Wow, great read.

My friend was 'the biker' in another case (car did a u-turn without seeing him) He has life long problems

You seem like a 'decent' guy which is rare these days I think.

Unfortuate circumstances, it will make me slow down on the roads, save the 'moments' for the track.

Is anything going to be published do you know?

[drivin_me_nuts]

10 Pence Short said:

The Injured Motorcyclist said:

After the accident I now suffer with continuous pain with the nerves from my paralysed right hand and arm which used to be my dominant side

I have been prescribed four different types of pills to be taken four times a day without fail to try and ease the pain these help to a certain extent until temperature changes moving from one room to another going outside is the most excrutiating pain imaginable I can only describe it as holding my hand and arm in boiling cooking oil. This pain is as constant as breathing in and out it wears me down to the point where I have to ease the pain by taking morphine unwillingly but necessary.

I am now unable to do the most mundane jobs from washing myself even tying shoe laces is impossible driving to the shops is a thing of the past.

The last four years my partner and I have owned a caravan in the Lake District our escape from the hustle and bustle of everyday life we travelled on motorcycles which has been a lifetime involvement this route we have travelled for years and treat this particular route with respect. The day our life's changed we were on our way to the lakes.

I woke up in intensive care with my partner by my side apparently I was hit by a car travelling on the wrong side of the road my partner was seconds behind and seen me in the middle of the road lying unconscious ever since then my partner has been reliving the shocking experience over again every night.

If it hadn't been for the luck of two motorcyclists one knowing first aid the paramedics, police, air ambulance, trauma team and everyone involved my partner and I will be eternally grateful but take one link out of the chain of Samritans I would not be living today.

The offshore career which I've had for the last 13 years was abruptly stopped and will never continue due to the loss of my right arm which was explained to me by the surgeon he also said forget the person you used to be you will never be like that again. It was only a few years before in cases like mine the arm would have been amputated.

My whole world has been turned upside down I used to repair all kinds of machinery in the oil industry looking after multi million pounds worth of engines and equipment now I cannot even fasten my own laces. I am also having to write with my left hand the simple task of putting my watch on and off cannot be done without help am at a loss at the prospect of my future employment.

I used to be physically fit running eight kilometres in between weight training every other day the paramedic at the scene commented that if it had not been for my muscle mass and fitness it may have been a different outcome my muscle took the impact from my internal organs which helped to save my life.

Two decades of lifting weights and physical fitness which missing a day made me feel guilty now I struggle to walk even small distances without having to put my arm around my partner for support, now my partner has the burdon of trying to be my right arm as well as looking after two children.

Since leaving the hospital after the initial accident I have had nerve transfer operations one involving a nine and a half hour operation in theatre leaving me with skin grafts and scars from the neck downwards and will be having more in the future. I have been fortunate in one way that double vision which occured during the impact to my head has nearly returned to normal this gave me a break from more surgery which the eye specialist had planned.

The second operation with the renowned Professor Kay of St James hospital in Leeds who has given me the chance to move my hand and arm if everything goes to plan if not more operations will have to be undertaken.

My every day life has changed dramatically I wake up in the morning still thinking I have the use of my right hand and arm until I try to move, then the realisation of what happened has to be accepted all over again. Washing myself is not a task I can do alone a bath has to be planned in advance.

Due to the sever impact to my head my memory has been affected both long and short terms for example not recognising the police officer heading the case after meeting him previously, my partner stepped in to save my embarrassment reminding me, this happens a lot with friends hospital staff who know me but I can't seem to place them. I also repeat myself a lot ask the same questions over a space of time its not until this is pointed out to me that I become aware of this. I think it is fair to say this is a tiny example of how this accident has impacted on my life it is not the life I had prior and to be honest my life was pretty good. This is an ongoing battle which some days I seem to be losing others I get through this is not what I thought I would be like at the age of 42, the worst and hardest thing of all is I was going about my own business and someone else's action has devastated my whole future.

Every day is becoming mentally harder and harder as the realisation of what happened slowly sinks in and the thought of the rest of my life trying to cope with the dragging around a useless lump of flesh and bone that just hangs off my body

There's nothing I can or need to say about that, I just hope by reading this thread someone might in the future avoid being either party in the whole sorry affair.

Agreed.

[hoora henry]

Having read this topic from start to finish, i felt compellled to share with you my experience

14 years ago, i went out for a night out with the lads for a few beers, i had intended to leave the car in town and get a taxi back. After a skin full, we called it a night and tried to get a couple of taxis home... none came and i said i'll drive the 4 of us home!!

We got about half way home when i ragged it round a corner and hit an oncoming car head on, the driver (a girl aged 24) broke both her legs, her passenger sustained head injuries and died later that night in hospital. I was not injured, and apart from cuts and bruises to a couple of mates, my occupants got off very lightly too.
I'll never forget until the day i die the screams coming from the car that I hit. I'll never forget the girl (or her family) who died because of my actions. I did 3 years in prison for what I did, I also lost my wife and very seldom get to see my son.

The mental torture gets worse as the years go by, i know that my life will end when i commit suicide, i'm just unsure how long i'll go on until i finally do it to escape my demons. Prison didn't effect me in the slightest, i died the same night that poor girl did because of my actions. I'm just waiting for the courage to do it.

If any of you think speeding, drink driving etc is worth it, just stop and REALLY think about how many lives you could possibly ruin... I ruined not only the life of the girl i killed, but also her families lives and i ruined my own life too

[Mattt]

hoora henry said:

Having read this topic from start to finish, i felt compellled to share with you my experience

14 years ago, i went out for a night out with the lads for a few beers, i had intended to leave the car in town and get a taxi back. After a skin full, we called it a night and tried to get a couple of taxis home... none came and i said i'll drive the 4 of us home!!

We got about half way home when i ragged it round a corner and hit an oncoming car head on, the driver (a girl aged 24) broke both her legs, her passenger sustained head injuries and died later that night in hospital. I was not injured, and apart from cuts and bruises to a couple of mates, my occupants got off very lightly too.
I'll never forget until the day i die the screams coming from the car that I hit. I'll never forget the girl (or her family) who died because of my actions. I did 3 years in prison for what I did, I also lost my wife and very seldom get to see my son.

The mental torture gets worse as the years go by, i know that my life will end when i commit suicide, i'm just unsure how long i'll go on until i finally do it to escape my demons. Prison didn't effect me in the slightest, i died the same night that poor girl did because of my actions. I'm just waiting for the courage to do it.

If any of you think speeding, drink driving etc is worth it, just stop and REALLY think about how many lives you could possibly ruin... I ruined not only the life of the girl i killed, but also her families lives and i ruined my own life too

Interesting post - are you a regular posting under a new ID or a newbie?

You don't have to take your own life, i'm sure your son wouldn't want that - if you feel your life isn't worthwhile, why not make it more worthwhile working with victim support charities or hospices to try to balance out that bad things that you have done.

[hoora henry]

I'm a newbie

I've been reading this site on and off for about 2 months, never felt compelled to post until i read this very moving story by 10p

I could go in to details of how my depression gets me since the accident, i could tell you all how i think of the dead girl ever day of my life, i could tell you how i know for sure i'll end my own life, but what's the point? Lives were ruined that night by one act of gross stupidity, People have paid the price for my actions, i need to pay the price too

[Mattt]

hoora henry said:

I'm a newbie

I've been reading this site on and off for about 2 months, never felt compelled to post until i read this very moving story by 10p

I could go in to details of how my depression gets me since the accident, i could tell you all how i think of the dead girl ever day of my life, i could tell you how i know for sure i'll end my own life, but what's the point? Lives were ruined that night by one act of gross stupidity, People have paid the price for my actions, i need to pay the price too

I never get the point of suicide, it is the 'easy' way out and causes far more problems than it solves - although for those left behind rather than the 'selfish' one that does it.

Lives were ruined the night you crashed yes, but even more would be affected if you took your own life. There is always more to live for.

[andmole]

hoora henry said:

Having read this topic from start to finish, i felt compellled to share with you my experience

14 years ago, i went out for a night out with the lads for a few beers, i had intended to leave the car in town and get a taxi back. After a skin full, we called it a night and tried to get a couple of taxis home... none came and i said i'll drive the 4 of us home!!

We got about half way home when i ragged it round a corner and hit an oncoming car head on, the driver (a girl aged 24) broke both her legs, her passenger sustained head injuries and died later that night in hospital. I was not injured, and apart from cuts and bruises to a couple of mates, my occupants got off very lightly too.
I'll never forget until the day i die the screams coming from the car that I hit. I'll never forget the girl (or her family) who died because of my actions. I did 3 years in prison for what I did, I also lost my wife and very seldom get to see my son.

The mental torture gets worse as the years go by, i know that my life will end when i commit suicide, i'm just unsure how long i'll go on until i finally do it to escape my demons. Prison didn't effect me in the slightest, i died the same night that poor girl did because of my actions. I'm just waiting for the courage to do it.

If any of you think speeding, drink driving etc is worth it, just stop and REALLY think about how many lives you could possibly ruin... I ruined not only the life of the girl i killed, but also her families lives and i ruined my own life too

Your experiences need to be put across to others at risk of making the same mistakes that you made, giving them the opportunity to reform. That wouldn't happen if you killed yourself. Perhaps you could give your life some meaning if you could do this, to prevent others going through what you have. I know it would be difficult for you to constantly relive what happened, but it sounds as if you are doing that anyway. There must be opportunities for you to do this.

[gopher]

10ps

I know from reading this thread that you were punished by your trip to prison, but reading that letter from the motorcyclist, having that around your shoulders would seem to me much worse a sentence and one that will last for considerably longer, especially when combined with the first hand knowledge of what occurred on the day.

Getting something published and perhaps speaking to those most inclined to make foolish mistakes on the road (17-14 year old males I think) may do something to help you mitigate yourself, you have certainly had an impact on me and I consider myself a safe driver above all else.

Well done to you for your posts, and if possible, please continue.

Cheers

Paul

[ZR1cliff]

Henry,if you were going to do it you would have done it by now,you are abviously a man in a lot of pain,caught up in your own remorse and i feel for you.
You would be a right bastard if you didnt give it a second thought and the fact that you are so depressed about it means you are a decent human being,no you really are regardless of what you are thinking....mate we all make mistakes and people die every day because of mistakes of others,ok that reasoning doesnt make it any easier for you but now try your best and for the sake of the girl try to turn it into a positive,perhaps use it in some way to save lifes.

[hoora henry]

I wouldn't know where to start in trying to get across my experience to others

A lot of people think they will get away with things, a lot of people think it'll be somebody else who causes an accident, or gets hurt by somebody else through no fault of their own, but that night it was me... I was the one who did something stupid and ended an innocent young woman's life. i was the one who had the accident that always happens to somebody else, i was the one whos world turned upside down in the blink of an eye.

10p shows that even the most "normal" person can have their world shattered in an instant, please don't think that something bad will NEVER happen to you, it just might!!! and are you prepared to be the "one" ? are you prepared to have your life changed for ever just so you can rag it down a road when "you" think it's safe? is it really safe?

[stu_the_flat]

hoora henry said:

I wouldn't know where to start in trying to get across my experience to others

A lot of people think they will get away with things, a lot of people think it'll be somebody else who causes an accident, or gets hurt by somebody else through no fault of their own, but that night it was me... I was the one who did something stupid and ended an innocent young woman's life. i was the one who had the accident that always happens to somebody else, i was the one whos world turned upside down in the blink of an eye.

10p shows that even the most "normal" person can have their world shattered in an instant, please don't think that something bad will NEVER happen to you, it just might!!! and are you prepared to be the "one" ? are you prepared to have your life changed for ever just so you can rag it down a road when "you" think it's safe? is it really safe?

I'm sorry to here this but tomorrow is another day. Just try to lead the best life you can.

I wish you all the best.

(oh and welcome to PH!)

[ApexJimi]

drivin_me_nuts said:

10PS - just out of curiosity, how would you feel if the biker came on this forum and offered his view of the situation and on you? You write a powerful story and much of what you write clearly has a resonance with many of us but this view of your circumstances is for the most, unchallenged and has generated considerable empathy. I am certainly not critising you but I am more than a little curious to know if you would be prepared to hear the other side so publicly - even if the other side was critical to you and your actions..

Having followed this thread from the beginning, I don't believe for a second that anyone could me more critical of Dan than he is of himself.

[1]

This thread makes for incredible reading and has certainly made me think twice about my driving. I would like to thank both 10p Short and Hora Henry for their honestly and courage in posting their experiences.

Judging by the responses from others, and my own reaction, I am sure that your experiences will have a positive impact and make many who read this thread think twice about their actions.

Hora Henry,
I cant possible understand what you must be going through but would echo what has already been said and urge you to try and use your experience to help others think twice. It sounds as though you have alot to offer.

10p Short,
I hope you don't mind but upon reading your story I noticed your name on your profile and found this article in the Cumberland & Westmoreland Herald.

I was intrigued to read this paragraph;

Article said:

A car driver who left a motorcyclist severely injured after a crash while using the A686 at Hartside “like a race track” was sent to prison for 12 months.

The accident happened when Olley, who was driving one of a convoy of high powered Honda Civic cars, passed two vehicles at high speed and then tried to overtake another on a blind bend before losing control and hitting a motorbike coming the other way.

Mrs. Linda Vance, prosecuting, told the court that Olley, using the nickname “Ten Pence Short”, had used an Internet website for Honda Civic drivers to arrange a meet in a Penrith supermarket car park.

From there, she said, he led them up the A686 to Hartside a road he described on the website as “a good little route for cars like ours”. He suggested that “the best games” involved “finding a guy in a superior car and watching him trying to keep up”, she said.

My first question is how did they find out about the chat room stuff and that you were on a pre planned meet? My second question is how much of an impact do you think this had on them finding you guilty of dangerous driving and giving you a custodial sentence.

[A4-S-Line]

I can only applaud 10Ps for his courage in posting this, it must take a lot for you to post on what must have been a horrible experience for you and indeed the biker!


Hoorah Henry - You will always remember what happened but dont take your own life, as mentioned - you could work with charities and help make a difference!!!

Dont quit!!!

[drivin_me_nuts]

hoora henry said:

Having read this topic from start to finish, i felt compellled to share with you my experience

14 years ago, i went out for a night out with the lads for a few beers, i had intended to leave the car in town and get a taxi back. After a skin full, we called it a night and tried to get a couple of taxis home... none came and i said i'll drive the 4 of us home!!

We got about half way home when i ragged it round a corner and hit an oncoming car head on, the driver (a girl aged 24) broke both her legs, her passenger sustained head injuries and died later that night in hospital. I was not injured, and apart from cuts and bruises to a couple of mates, my occupants got off very lightly too.
I'll never forget until the day i die the screams coming from the car that I hit. I'll never forget the girl (or her family) who died because of my actions. I did 3 years in prison for what I did, I also lost my wife and very seldom get to see my son.

The mental torture gets worse as the years go by, i know that my life will end when i commit suicide, i'm just unsure how long i'll go on until i finally do it to escape my demons. Prison didn't effect me in the slightest, i died the same night that poor girl did because of my actions. I'm just waiting for the courage to do it.

If any of you think speeding, drink driving etc is worth it, just stop and REALLY think about how many lives you could possibly ruin... I ruined not only the life of the girl i killed, but also her families lives and i ruined my own life too

...You cannot escape your demons. They are yours and yours alone to control. Suicide, though indeed a way out that will indeed end your problems will deprive the world of you and what you have to offer. It's your choice as to your next steps and feel free to end your life if you truly believe that in doing so you will make it somehow 'better' for those surviving you. Will it better the life of your son? or will it just add to the pain that perhaps he might already be suffering? But before you do pluck up the courage to pull the razor, or take the tablets or how ever you see it fit to do so, stop and have a think, a good long hard think.

I have a few thoughts for you, that perhaps you might like to consider, but in doing so, be honest with yourself.

Does actually forcing this mental torture on yourself actually serve a purpose? After all these years does the suffering seem normal to you - that because what you did was so bad, you have to keep on punishing yourself to the point of death? Was it that the law did not punish you enough and you have to make it harder on yourself? Or is it something different - is it that actually feeling like this actually serves a purpose in that in thinking about this event all the time you do not have to think about anything else? i.e. if all the time you feel this bad then there is little in life to want to feel good about.

You do have a choice, it may not seem it right now, and it may actually seem like an impossibly hard mountain to climb, but you do have a choice and that choice is a simple one. Live or die. Die and it ends now. Live, and you have to learn to accept the consequences of your actions and the anguish that you have caused. Moving forwards with your life is possible, it will take time, effort and probably a great deal of courage and energy. But the rewards may well be worth it - if only not to feel like you feel today. Live your life, don't make the tragedy of your mistake a tragedy doubled.

Remember, you have a choice, make it when you're ready. Just don't make it in haste.

[Silent1]

I'd just like to say, it's times like these people should learn from this, before Daniel's trial, i contacted him to re-assure him and try and answer some of his questions, when many in SP&L where out to villify him, such as an anonymous (to this day) poster who on his day of sentencing dragged up all the threads and posted the result in a fairly derogatory manner towards him.

Off of my own back i found the prison he was at and tried to contact him, due to useless prison bureaucracy it took so long to get the address, he had moved. I also continued to email his email address to talk to the person who was watching it for him, i don't know who they were but i hope it helped.

I don't want this to come across as, ooh look at me, aren't i great. Rather i want it to say, even when someone may look to be the bad person, there's always a reason, no matter what happened people should still reserve judgement.
Because if you look now, when he's had his say it's turned the tables completely, i'm not saying he wasn't guilty, just that the inference people drew at the time was so wildly wrong.

[smilerbaker]

hoora henry said:

I'm a newbie

I've been reading this site on and off for about 2 months, never felt compelled to post until i read this very moving story by 10p

I could go in to details of how my depression gets me since the accident, i could tell you all how i think of the dead girl ever day of my life, i could tell you how i know for sure i'll end my own life, but what's the point? Lives were ruined that night by one act of gross stupidity, People have paid the price for my actions, i need to pay the price too

if you except your life is over, why not give it help others, charity work etc. I worked with a guy with a similar story to yours, he stopped work afterwards and worked helping brain damaged people, it brought him a lot of inner peace.

[derestrictor]

It really is the most incredible thread and all PHers should read and if necessary, learn from the nightmare of the scenario.

10p is indeed to be commended for having the boocks to write up and hopefully the considered responses aid some kind of catharsis.

I'm very impressed by his obvious (understandable) feelings for the biker: Jesus, there is no way I would ever use a bike or cycle on UK roads today but the desperation you feel for the guy's disabilities is awful: I genuinely hope 10p can reconcile what happened and I hope the biker regains as much faculty as feasible in time.

You know, it just isn't worth it - hooning's in our blood, I guess but frankly - you have to do it when you're on your own, out of the way and where nobody else is about which necessitates clear sight lines and in most cases, very early starts.

As has been said, this will for many, be the ultimate 'there but for the grace of God' story. This mortal coil is a fragile f@cker.

[10 Pence Short]

1 said:

10p Short,
I hope you don't mind but upon reading your story I noticed your name on your profile and found this article in the Cumberland & Westmoreland Herald.

To clarify a couple of points; the day of the accident I joined a group of cars who were meeting close to my home. It was mainly a group of 30 or so Clio owners from the owners club, but of more interest were a small group of Honda owners who'd arranged to tag along on the back of that meeting.

On the morning of the accident, I met the group in Kendal and we let the Clio owners head off towards Penrith where they were meeting another group. Everyone can probably now appreciate the irony when I say I and the other Honda owners let the Clios go before us so we could avoid getting involved in any p*ssing competitions and causing an accident.

Having witnessed the driving of the main group on the way to Penrith, and considering the size of the group (which was more than 40 cars I would have said at this point) and the route they intended to take into the Lake District, I made the decision when I reached Penrith that I didn't want any further part in the drive.

At this point I made the decision to head up the A686 to Hartside, which I discussed with the other Honda drivers. Four of them decided they'd come and have a look at the road. For anyone who knows the road or the area, it's very well renowned and usually features on any list of top ten driving roads in this country.

Five of us (three Civic Type Rs and two identical white Integras) set off towards Hartside. None of us were 'boy racers', none of us were in any competition, none of us had anything to prove. For 6 or 7 miles until we reached the village of Melmerby, where the road starts to climb up Hartside, we drove very steadily, encountered little traffic and nothing of any note took place.

As we came out of Melmerby village we caught up with a group of four cars travelling slowly, it's a scenic route and the people heading up the queue were not from the area and didn't know the road (which I later found from witness evidence). Unbeknown to me, a local young lad in a Corsa had spotted us and joined the queue at the back.

In the next 2.5 miles I overtook the four cars, one of whom overtook the others in the most dangerous way I've ever seen on that road (as in crawling past a car doing 40mph at 42mph whilst approaching a blind bend). Witness evidence from those four cars suggested that I'd passed them like a 'bat out of hell', 'engine screaming' and so on. The road itself is quite enclosed, full of hairpins and interspersed with short straights. As someone who knew the road extremely well I used those opportunities to pass the cars. To this day, presented with the same overtaking opportunities, I would still have no second thought in repeating them.

The cars behind me in our group did some overtaking, though to be honest the nature of the road means you can't see far back in your mirrors. I would imagine the people we were overtaking felt intimidated and it could be assumed that all those similar performance cars were trying to keep up with each other. Maybe they were, I was perhaps being naive in not thinking about how the others behind me would drive. For example, the Corsa I mentioned was singled out by witness evidence as having passed one car right around a blind blind and was reported individually to the Police.

The final straw in the witness evidence was from a man in a Mondeo, the final car I overtook before losing control, an elderly man and his wife who'd been driving for years and years with an unblemished record. He was the car I described earlier as overtaking insanely, which he did twice. He, and then corroborated by his wife, claimed I had overtaken him around a blind right hand bend and immediately lost control in front of him. It simply wasn't true. I'd overtaken him about 1/4 of a mile beforehand, on the exit of a left hand bend. Nobody actually witnessed me beginning to lose control because no cars were close enough to see me, as the bends behind me obscured vision.

I was given the opportunity under Police interview to watch a run done by a Police car up the same route, so I could point out exactly where I had overtaken the man in his Mondeo. On the first run of the video I did exactly that. It wass noted in the interview that I'd done that and that it matched my description from my first interview, done some 3 months earlier.

The reponse from the investigating officers was to sit on that information for 5 months, until I was comitted to Crown Court, then they took the video of the run to the old mans house and asked him and his wife to point out where I'd overtaken them, 10 months earlier. They did not share my viewpoint.

With regards to internet evidence. I've been a member of the Civic Type-R owners site for a long time. I got a reputation as a bit of a sarcastic git and I made a lot of daft comments which didn't often have a grounding in reality, more they were being daft or making stupid digs at people (I'm sure I'm not surprising some PHers with that).

When the accident happened, 4 of the first few cars on the scene happened to be high performance Hondas. A couple of the Civics had windows stickers with the club URL on them. It didn't take a rocket scientist to find out what my username was, and within a few hours of the accident the Police had downloaded the forum and printed out all of my comments. In the light of the events that day, some of the comments on the Civic forum turned out to be very damning. People who didn't know the context in which they were being said, or the character who was saying them would have to take the comments on face value, and face value said that I was a boy racing tw&t.

So now the Police had evidence from witnesses and they had evidence from an internet forum which proved I treated that road like a plaything and was predisposed to driving quickly.

Add to that the thorough investigation carried out by the Collision Investigation Unit. This concluded that the likely cause of the accident was any or a combination of excessive speed, coarse braking and or steering. In reality it was the former. It couldn't be estimated at any time what speed I was doing, as my wheels had continued to rotate through the entire skid and post impact with the bike. The radious of the corners means it would be very unlikely that I was travelling above the speed limit at the time of my accident. It was what you'd now call innapropriate speed.

As the back of the car began to slide, I'd turned into it and applied as much power as I could get, trying to bring the car back around. Despite the huge, almost 90 degree angle of slide, the car had slowed almost to a halt by the time of the impact. When the impact occured, I was still on the throttle pedal, the front wheels were lifted, spun, gained traction and spat me onto the nearside verge. Believe it or not, the investigation report very briefly mentioned this as evidence I may have been purposely 'power sliding' the car, which was ridiculous in the extreme and didn't feature in court.


Presented with those 3 pieces of strong evidence, I had to make a choice. I knew how I'd driven immediately before the accident, and although it was quickly it didn't match the witnesses versions of events. I knew how I'd written the internet evidence and what I'd meant at the time, could I possibly make a jury understand the comments in their proper context? It was unlikely on both counts.

A Newton Hearing may have been an idea, but my legal advice suggested that the judge had a dislike of Newton hearings and that the outcome wouldn't necessarily be improved just by discounting some smallish parts of the evidence.

So I had a clear choice- fight a full trial in front of a jury and try to argue that it was a moment of careless driving, that I'd gone into the corner too quickly and lost control, knowing that I would receive no discount on a sentence if I was found guilty and that the judge may be inclined to hand down the maximum two year sentence, OR plead guilty to the offences as charged, accept the prosecutions version of events and get the 30% discount as provided by law. It was a hugely difficult decision socially, morally, financially, on every level. I knew that by pleading guilty I would have little right to reply, little opportunity to set anything straight. The newspaper reporters in the court would pick out the juiciest prosecution quotes and print them, as they do all of the time.

In the end the prosecution version of events was the only one heard in court, so it was the only one reported in the paper. It wasn't a true representation of me or of the events, but it's one people would use to judge me. People who I've known for years read those reports in the loal papers, I still have to pass them in the street in this small town wondering if they believe mine or the paper version of what happened. Some people I used to say 'hello' to now try to avoid conversation and even eye contact.


As I've said before, when you're out driving, and particularly if you're making progress, keep thinking about your last 5 minutes of driving and how it would be described by a witness if you were to have an incident further on.

Edited by 10 Pence Short on Thursday 25th October 09:38

[10 Pence Short]

I just wanted to add- I'm not trying to defend myself in the post above or justify anything, but seeming the reporting was brought up, I wanted to give a brief appraisal of how I saw events that day.